Ánhaga
by redb0wtie
Summary: This is my version of the second half of the last episode of Merlin. Camelot has been taken over by Morgana, and Merlin feels lost and alone. Will he be able to save Camelot when he has no magic?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N- This is only the second fanfiction I've ever written, so sorry about any mistakes! I wrote it as if the last ever episode of Merlin "The Diamond of the Day Part 2" went a bit differently. Gwaine didn't go to find and kill Morgana, so he didn't die, and she didn't find out where Merlin and Arthur were heading. Arthur was healed but he and Merlin were caught on the way back to Camelot and Morgana's soldiers managed to take over the castle. The title is Old English for someone who lives apart from all others, or a solitary being, which is how Merlin feels for most of the story! **

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Red smeared across the stone floor like a sunset over grey clouds. Gwaine stumbled to his feet and swung the sword at his attacker. His hasty blow missed its target and the larger man easily hit him on his bare back with the flat of his sword. The hall was lit only by fire-light and the shadows of the two fighting men looked like bears on the walls. No-one saw, of course, as they were too engrossed in the "tournament" to notice.

Merlin bit back a shouted warning as Gwaine nearly tripped over an unconscious previous adversary. The last time Merlin had tried to help him, Morgana had thrown the servant's food to the dogs and forced him to watch, starving, as the dogs devoured his bread. While he wanted to help his friend, he would be of no use to him dead. He had been forced to kneel next to Morgana's – no, _Arthur's_ – throne, to watch the fighting. It went on every day. The group of prisoners must nominate someone to fight for their food. Arthur was still wounded although Merlin knew he must be healing well, and he dreaded the day he would undoubtedly volunteer. Gwen and Gaius were never even considered, much to Gwen's disgust. The three remaining knights – Gwaine, Percival and Leon – would usually take turns. Morgana had done this when she had briefly held the castle before and it seemed to be one of her favourite games.

Suddenly a sharp voice rang out, echoes hitting the walls like knives.

"Emrys! Fetch our fighter some water. We can't have him dying now, can we?" Morgana's voice had a strange quality to it. She spoke how Merlin imagined a panther would speak – soft and honey-like, but with notes of danger behind it. He hated to hear her speak his true name.

He stood up and began to walk quickly across the room, avoiding the rowdy mob surrounding the knight who now had blood seeping from a cut above his eye and one on his ribs. Heavy, dull metal chains hung from Merlin's wrists and rattled when he moved. Arthur had once told him that they were the sort of chains that weren't designed to restrict movement, more to remind the wearer of what they were – a prisoner. For him, they had an entirely different use. After Gaius killed the creature Morgana used to steal his magic, she had no way of completely removing his magic without killing him - instead, she had to contain it. The cuffs had some sort of runes on from the time of the old magic. Gaius had once told Merlin of Druids who had lost people they loved to sickness or injury, and driven themselves mad trying to find ways of bringing them back. The only way to protect the poor souls from themselves was to restrain their magic until their mind returned.

Soft footsteps barely disturbed the silence in the lower levels of the castle, and the only sound was the heavy breathing of a guard as Merlin walked down the stairs to the kitchens. He knew the guard well – it was Tarrian, who he had been treating for a wheeze until Morgana attacked. He shook his head at the memory and paused to look out of a window across the dark fields surrounding the castle. The moon hung in the sky and reminded him of the shining orbs of light he used to create so that he could read from his treasured books, even when the sun had long set. Now, he could no longer read even if he could have made the light, for Morgana made him sleep outside the door of her chambers.

When she had taken the castle, and the knights, the king, his wife and Gaius stood before her in chains, Morgana had dragged Merlin in front of her.

"For you, the cells are too good. You have spoiled my plans for too long for me to allow you to see you friends. You will wear the chains for the rest of your life, and never again feel the warmth of magic in your heart. And... You will serve me, like you served your beloved king."

Merlin had spat at her, and sworn he would never serve the likes of her. Morgana had simply nodded at a guard, who struck Gwen with the flat of his sword.

"Will you serve me now?" She asked, as the echoes of Gwen's scream died down. "Or do I have to do it again?"

"_No, no stop_! I will, if you will not hurt Arth- the king. Or any of his subjects!" It pained Merlin to say it, but he knew that Morgana would kill without a second thought. He looked round to see Arthur staring at him with an expression in his eyes that Merlin could not quite interpret. He hardly dared hope it might be pride.

Since then, Merlin's life had been hell. He had not seen Arthur, Gwen or Gaius and had only seen the knights when they were fighting. In fact, he had not had a friendly word spoken to him in weeks.

Merlin placed the full cup back on the table and grunted in annoyance when the chain wouldn't stretch quite far enough for him to turn off the tap as he did it. Suddenly, an idea struck him. Merlin spun around, looking for a piece of parchment. He could put a note inside the cup, and Gwaine could keep it in his mouth... Of course, Gwaine was in dire need of water but this was more important. Grabbing the quill the cook used to write out recipes for the apprentices, he thought for a moment before beginning to write on the piece of paper.

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**Please review on your way out, it really helps me to know what you think about my writing!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N- And so, the story continues!**

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"Where once was light

Now darkness falls

Where once was love

Love is no more" – Gollum's song

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He had taken too long with the note. Merlin ran back through the belly of the castle like a cat, and was just about to start running up the stairs, when suddenly he tripped and fell hard onto his side. Wind knocked from him, it took the warlock a moment to regain his balance. A moment, which was just long enough for Tarrian to arrive from around the corner.

"Hey, boy."

Merlin looked at him with an eyebrow raised - "Boy?"

Tarrian smiled and pulled Merlin up from the ground, then looked suspiciously at the crude wooden cup he held.

"Interestin' how you haven't spilled any water from that cup. Almost interestin' enough to make a man wonder what's really inside that cup?"

Merlin stared at the burly guard, clutching the cup as if it would protect him. Tarrian looked behind them, then stepped closer.

"If you're sneakin' notes around, what you really wanna do is put a little bit of water in there, and the note will float on the surface. That way, if you trip or the cup wobbles, you get a nice splashing sound." He poured a little water into the cup from the flask on his belt, and the note quickly rose to the surface. Tarrian smiled, and looked down at Merlin's confused face. "Not all the guards blindly turned to Morgana for leadership when she took over the castle, you know."

His voice had lost its slow-but-menacing-guard quality, and had now become quick and sharp. "In fact, there are many people on your side, young warlock."

Merlin's heart quickened at the last two words.

"We will be looking out for you. You are not alone." With that, Tarrian quickly strode off back to his guard post. The whole exchange had taken little over a minute, but to Merlin it had changed everything.

_I'm not alone? _

_How do I know I can trust him?_

_Of course you can, stupid boy. You've known him for years._

_He can help me! He can help rescue Arthur!_

Not wasting any more time thinking, he set off again down the moonlit corridor.

* * *

By the time he made it back to the hall ten minutes had passed, double what it usually took him. Morgana would surely be suspicious.

"Emrys! Finally. It took you long enough. Quickly, give the _brave_ Sir Gwaine his drink and get out of the way." Morgana was standing next to her second in command, Ignitrus. He was a tall thin man with dark hair, which he had a habit of running his fingers through when he was stressed. He was doing it now. He leaned over to murmur something into Morgana's ear and she frowned, looking in the direction of the door.

Merlin knelt down next to Gwaine and handed him the water. Spotting the note, Gwaine looked up at his friend. Understanding flashed in his eyes and he quickly took the cup into his hand and drank the water. Merlin saw his jaw move slightly as he took the note into his mouth and stored it under his tongue.

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It had been a long day for Gwaine. He stumbled back to his cell with a guard poking a sword in his back all the way, but on this occasion, he couldn't turn around and sting him with a biting rebuke. Why did the guards always consider it necessary to poke him with a sword then throw him into the cell? There was nothing wrong with being polite.

Arthur was lying on the bunk and Gwen sitting beside him stroking his forehead.

"I don't see _why_ I always have to stay here! I'm strong enough to fight!"

"Of course you are, my love. But why not wait a few more days? The knight can manage on their own – can't you?" Gwen looked up with an expression that said _say yes, or feel my wrath._

The knights all quickly nodded.

Percival looked up at the sound of the cell door being unlocked. "Gwaine, you're back! How was it? Oh, you're bleeding – not too serious I hope?"

Gwaine shrugged, then looked around to check that the guards had locked the door and left. One of the problems with bars instead of a door was their conversation could be heard by less welcome listeners. He turned back and pulled the note out from the back of his mouth.

"Ugh Gwaine, what's that?! Somebody knock your tooth out?" Gwaine simply smiled at Leon and held up the note.

"This, my friend, is evidence of Merlin's genius."

Everyone in the cell crowded around to try to see the small piece of parchment, blocking out all the light. After much exasperated struggling, Gwaine surrendered the note to Gaius to read.

The old physician cleared his throat and unrolled the note.

"It's just random letters" Gaius said, looking confused. "What could it possibly mean?"

Everyone looked expectantly at him, and he laughed, exclaiming "I have absolutely no idea!"

Arthur sat up from the bunk and looked at them, realisation dawning on his face.

"But I think_ I_ do. It's called Atbash Cipher. I told him about it once, but I didn't think he was actually _listening. _It's a simple substitution cipher - you basically take the alphabet and fold it in half. I leant it from a foreign merchant who sailed here to talk to my father when I was a boy. I need somewhere to write it down..."

After a few minutes, Arthur had scratched the key to decoding the message into a patch of dust on the floor. He stood up, and taking the note from Gaius, he began to painstakingly decode it.

"Right." Arthur said as he finished, with a breath of relief. "Just as I thought. It reads:

_I have a plan to kill Morgana. I will contact you again this way when the time is right. The signal will be three owl hoots. Stay strong, my friends."_

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**I'm going to start updating weekly, but I had a surge of inspiration today and just had to write it down! I have a general idea where this is going, but it will probably change. The Atbash cipher is real, so if you're interested you can find out more on Wikipedia. Don't forget, every review, follow or favourite makes me do a little dance of joy! (Really, my family now thinks I'm insane as I randomly jump up and dance)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N- I only just noticed that I said there was a tap in Chapter 1. What I meant was pump, so we'll just imagine that's what I said. *waves hands* You didn't seeeeee anythiiing.**

**I forgot to say earlier, none of the characters are mine except Ignitrus and Tarrian – they are mine, all mine MUAH HA HA HA HAAA sorry.**

**I'm really enjoying writing this story, but I go back to school on Monday and you know what that means – JANUARY EXAMS D: I'll try to keep updating regularly though. Anyway, let the story commence!**

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"Though much is taken, much abides; and though

We are not now that strength which in old days

Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;

One equal temper of heroic hearts,

Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield." – "Ulysses", Lord Alfred Tennyson

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Merlin could see his breath form clouds on the freezing night air. He was leaning against the cold, hard wall of Morgana's chambers, awaiting her call. Merlin had assumed she would take over Arthur's chambers like she did the castle, but instead she chose to return to her old chambers. He wondered if it was because they reminded her of her childhood. If he was right, it was the only act of humanity Morgana had shown in a long time.

She had told him to stand outside her door at least an hour ago. Brushing her hair, she had turned to him with what he almost thought was a smile before it mutated into a smirk.

"Leave me. Stand outside the door until I need you again."

"What, all night?"

"Well, if you _insist_, then feel free!" Merlin knew that it wasn't an offer. He would have to be careful not to slip up again. Looking at the floor, he dipped his head and turned to leave.

A cough sounded behind him. He spun around with gritted teeth. "Yes?"

"When addressing me, I would prefer if you referred to me as_ my lady._" She looked at him disdainfully, like a cat staring at a mouse that dared fight against its imminent death.

Merlin knew it wasn't worth it to rebel. Trying not to appear annoyed, he muttered, "Yes, _my lady."_

Shutting the heavy door behind him, the warlock kicked the wall resulting in a sore toe and a loud jangle from the chains. He didn't feel better in the slightest. The cuffs were starting to break the soft skin of his wrists, so he had ripped some strips of cloth from his tunic and tied them underneath. Small victories were the key to staying sane. His stomach rumbled loudly in complaint. Oh yes, that was another thing he was angry about, although at least he wasn't the only one. The whole castle was starving under Morgana's regime.

The only thing he could smile about was the knowledge that his note had made it to the cells, although he had a paper cut on his thumb from rolling the paper so tight it would not be damaged by the water. Sometimes, Merlin felt like the whole world hated him.

Walking over to the window, Merlin sighed and looked out over the dark fields as he had done when he was fetching the water. That had been hours ago; it had been years. A lone, silent owl swooped low over the field and grabbed something in its claws. Wings beating hard to pull it through the air, it flew away into the sky. Merlin leaned out and spread his arms, imagining what it would be like to see the castle disappear beneath him, to feel the wind in his hair once more, to fly closer and closer to the moon-

"Emrys! I need you! Come here _now!"_

Merlin snapped out of his fantasy and pushed open the door.

"What is it, my lady?"

Morgana gave him another sickening half smile. "Well now, let me think... Oh dear, Merlin - I have completely forgotten!"

Merlin forced a smile to his lips. "Very funny, my lady. If that will be all?" The last time Arthur did that to him he had spat in his morning drink. He looked up at Morgana who had turned back to her desk, thinking he was leaving.

A glint of light caught his eye. It was a letter opener, hidden from sight underneath a pile of letters and notes. Morgana had removed all the sharp objects from her room in case of a murder attempt. Without his magic, to Morgana, Merlin was not a threat so she must not have searched her room very thoroughly. He stepped towards it and moved the first layer of paper. Imagining the barn owl in flight, he tried to make his movements silent. He had nearly grasped the handle when he heard a creak from outside and he slipped out of the door in the blink of an eye.

How could he have been so stupid? To risk so much, in a moment of blind anger. The blade wouldn't have killed her even if he had managed to extract it from the pile of paper – she was not vulnerable to mortal blades. Stupid, stupid boy...

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Morgana was not clever, in any sense of the word. The only plans of hers that had worked were influenced or even entirely created by someone else. It was not her that killed Arthur – it was Mordred. She did manage to kill Uther, but only because he had been driven mad with grief at her betrayal. That was definitely not part of her plan. The plan to take Camelot had been masterminded by her newest second-in-command, Ignitrus.

Ignitrus was, however, incredibly clever. He had worked out long ago that the one thing he most desired – apart from knowledge – was power. He had also worked out that people in power were often very stupid. Tapping the desk rhythmically with his slender fingers – if he were in another age they would be called _pianist's fingers_ – he sighed and set fire to the piece of paper he had been writing upon. If he had a flaw, it would be that his mind travelled in too many directions at once. He needed to write his thoughts down on a piece of paper or they would unravel, hence the paper. And the burning of the paper.

When pretending to be the servant of a powerful sorceress, it probably wasn't a good idea to let them find parchment with a plot to ensure their downfall written upon it.

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**A/N- Reviews are really, really appreciated! I love knowing what people think about my work. Hope you enjoyed it, and I will settle into a weekly updating pattern ****_eventually._**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N- Back to school tomorrow grrr. This chapter was inspired by a discussion I had with my Dad and "Dream Collapsing" from Inception, by Hans Zimmer. However, my Dad's idea was to blow Morgana up with a nuclear bomb, so I won't take too much inspiration from him in future.**

**I own no-one apart from Tarrian and Ignitrus.**

**Begin, my dear readers!**

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"O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain!" – Hamlet, William Shakespeare

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Ignitrus stepped calmly along the corridor. He had one thought on his mind. I seemed to hammer against his skull. The point of his life was to reason, to whittle things down to the very base of their existence. Therefore, he spent much of his time thinking and planning. He knew that the only logical path to gaining power was to kill Morgana.

Rain lashed down outside the strong fortress walls. The wind was making a hollow howling noise, as if a huge monster was outside, singing to the moon. Singing about how it longed to be loved, not feared.

Ignitrus was near to Morgana's door now. Every footstep seemed to ring out impossibly loud, but at the same time he knew they couldn't possibly be heard over the noise of the anguished monster outside.

Closer.

Closer.

CLOSER.

Had his brain been capable of it, he would have felt sad – even guilty – at what he was about to do. No, it was the only logical path. The guards would give in to him once they realised how much better he would be for the kingdom. He would make the kingdom better. Better. He repeated the word to himself. It was a nice word; a clean word. No unnecessary sounds. Much like him.

Better.

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Merlin awoke with a stiff back and aching legs from sleeping in a half sitting, half crouching position. Sighing, he stood up. He'd overheard one of the other servants saying that it helped to touch your toes, because it got the blood flowing around your body and balanced the humours. He tried it. Nope, still achy. His chains were freezing cold and almost burned his wrist when he moved. To make things worse, his clothes were damp from the rain. Hadn't Morgana heard of putting _glass_ in her windows?

Limping slightly, he walked the length of the corridor - with a pause in the middle to moan as cramp set in – and returned to the small alcove no doubt worn into the wall by generations of sleeping servants. The fact that he was tucked out of sight in the wall meant the he didn't notice Ignitrus until he was two feet away from the alcove. Merlin thought about saying something, as he would back when Arthur controlled the castle, then realised that there was absolutely nothing he had _to_ say. His whole life, he had been a servant. But he had been so much more than that – a friend, adviser... maybe even an equal. But now he was no more than a servant.

He was so lost in this revelation that he didn't hear the chair being overturned in Morgana's chambers.

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Ignitrus stepped into Morgana's chambers. She rose from her chair and smiled.

"My lady, how _wonderful_ it is to be in your presence." He bowed low, one arm extended.

"Dear Ignitrus, if you bow like that every time you see me, Merlin will no longer have to sweep my floors!" They both laughed, although it was more strained from Ignitrus. He stood next to her and placed a hand on her back. A little forward, perhaps, but necessary. She relaxed into his hand and seemed to enjoy the touch of another person. He smiled to himself. Stupid girl, mistaking his actions for affection when he was really checking where her ribs were.

A crack of thunder rolled around the castle. Morgana looked out of the window and Ignitrus seized his chance. Stepping closer, he plunged the knife between her ribs. Opening her mouth in the start of a scream, Morgana gasped as he removed the blade and she fell back heavily, knocking her chair to the ground.

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_Why can't I summon my magic why won't it work why won't it why can't I help mehelp-_

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Ignitrus saw her eyes flicker gold as the wound began to heal. Of course, no mortal blade, blah blah. Not a problem, he just had to kill her without using a blade.

Quickly scanning the room with cold, silent eyes, he settled on a heavy quill holder. Ignitrus picked it up and felt the weight in his hand. Not perfect, but it would have to do.

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Merlin looked up at the sound of a dull thud. For some reason, that noise felt wrong. So, _so_ wrong. He started to run. When Merlin burst into the room, the first thing he saw was Morgana on the floor, blood running down her forehead. She had imprisoned his friends. Taken his magic. He should hate her, he should be pleased to see her there.

Why couldn't he hate her? She looked so alone, so lost.

A noise behind him. Merlin turned quickly. There was no-one there. Wind howled through the open window, making the curtain billow up. Merlin walked slowly over to it, making sure he didn't disturb the unconscious Morgana. He held back the curtain, and, not entirely sure why he was doing it, looked out of the window. Far below them lay a blood-stained block of wood. Merlin recognised it as the quill holder Arthur had bought Morgana when he had annoyed her years ago.

Merlin shut the window and turned back to Morgana. His eyebrows were creased together the way they always did when he concentrated.

On a cord around Morgana's neck was a key. The key to his chains. Reaching down, he grabbed it and pulled, breaking the cord. Slowly, hardly daring to breathe, he slipped the key into the lock on his left cuff and turned it. The cuff opened. He did the same on his right, and the chains fell to the floor.

Merlin staggered slightly, and steadied himself on the table. Black spots appeared on his vision, and he felt a sharp pain as if a taut rope had suddenly been released and had snapped against him. Merlin's eyes glowed gold and he almost seemed to grow a few inches. He smiled and felt warmth surge inside him, filling the cold, empty corners with golden light.

His magic had been returned.

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**Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Reviews are welcomed in with cake and a marching band.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N- Welcome, welcome readers. I spent the whole day in thinking about how I was going to do this chapter (no, really, on the way to school my friend asked me something and I replied "Arthur"). **

**It feels so strange having people enjoying my work! I'm so glad you all like it! This was originally only going to be a few chapters but seeing as I'm enjoying it so much, I may as well extend it.**

**There won't be any "Mergana" here, because I don't ship it and I can't write for ships I don't ship, unless I have to put it in due to popular demand. That was a very confusing sentence, just sound it out in your head and you'll get it.**

**Read on, my lovelies!**

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_"No, no the monster said, _finally calming itself._ The queen most certainly__** was **__a witch and could very well have been on her way to great evil. Who's to say? She was trying to hold on to power, after all._

"Why did you save her then?"

_Because what she was __**not**__, was a murderer." – _A Monster Calls, Patrick Ness and Siobhan Dowd

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**Yes, I know Morgana was a murderer, but it's the same idea, really.**

* * *

Merlin felt the magic surge through him and threw his head back in joy. Stepping back, he felt something hard beneath his boot and looked round to see that he had stepped on Morgana's hand. Merlin stared for a second, before coming to his senses. It was so strange to see her lying on the floor, fragile, broken – a chick fallen from the nest.

Running to the corner of the room, he ripped down the thin veil that covered her bed and ripped it into strips. His movements became the strong, intelligent, mechanical manoeuvres of a medical professional. Merlin grabbed the jug of water on her table and placed it on the floor next to her.

There was one thing he had to do first though. In the mind of a doctor, treating the patient would take priority over all else. However, Merlin was not a doctor. He was a servant to the king of Camelot. Trying to touch them with as little of his skin as possible, Merlin picked up the chains. He picked up one of Morgana's limp wrists and fastened the first chains around it. Her breathing stopped for a second and Merlin readied himself.

He knew what to do. He did. He had seen Gaius do it dozens of times on newborn babies and dying knights. He was not forgetting it all, he wasn't, he wa-

She breathed again. Merlin heaved a sigh of relief and fastened the second cuff before anything else could happen. He then placed her hands across her lap and picked up a wad of the make-shift gauze. He dipped it in the water and softly wiped away the blood from the three cuts on her forehead, just above her left eyebrow. They were already starting to swell, so after the blood was cleaned away, he placed a thin strip of cloth into the jug of water. Merlin whispered and his eyes glowed gold. Head spinning, he steadied himself against the table.

First spell since he regained his magic. He would have to be careful.

The spell worked as he wanted it to, however, and the top layer of the jug was frozen solid. It had cracked the fine porcelain and Merlin picked it up by the cloth and shook of the remains of the jug.

After searching the room for a moment, he found a large bowl he had filled with water only the night before, for Morgana to wash her face in. He dropped the ice into it, and as it was submerged in the room-temperature water it cracked and splintered. Merlin grinned and picked the pieces of ice out of the water, then pulled the scarf from his neck and wrapped it around them.

He quickly bandaged her head, then used another strip of cloth to tie the ice to the wound, as she was in no state to hold it herself.

Finally, Merlin stood up and looked at his work. He had done very well, if he said so himself.

_And now for the trickier part. _

* * *

Tarrian was patrolling through the second corridor on the left after the Great Hall. He was in the middle of a _very_ interesting game of "how many apprentice guards can you scare in one go"? His current total was five, caught trying to sneak into the kitchen to steal a loaf of bread, one by one. Of course, he let them go - they were starving and there was more than enough food in the kitchen.

His wheeze was getting worse by the day. He stopped for a second and put his hand on the wall as he coughed heavily. When he had recovered, the burly guard stood up straight again and rubbed his salt-and-pepper beard with one hand.

He stopped. There was something _sticky _on his hand. He stared at the wall, where blood was smeared, as if somebody covered in blood had rested against the wall before continuing to flee. Tarrian breathed deep, and narrowed his eyes.

_Not on my watch._

* * *

Rain still pummelled the window , making the turret outside Morgana's window appear to melt. Merlin lifted Morgana, trembling slightly under her weight. Not that she was heavy, but Merlin was used to using magic for such _trivial_ matters as lifting things. However, today, he didn't think he was ready for the relatively high level of skill needed to levitate objects. The chains clinked as he moved and Merlin shivered at the noise. He placed Morgana down on her soft bed and quickly checked her pulse. Normal.

Merlin walked back round to the door and carefully picked up the two silver keys Morgana has previously had around her neck – one for the chains, one the master key for the cells. He quickly pulled off his boot and slid the one for the chains into the secret compartment in the sole. If he failed and he was captured again, they were unlikely to check his shoe.

Closing the door behind him and locking it, Merlin started to jog along the corridor in the direction of the cells.

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**Hope you enjoyed that! It was more of a filler chapter, to get everyone where I want them for the next chapter but I enjoyed the bit where Merlin treats Morgana. You can tell I want to be a doctor! **

**I feel like I nag you too much for reviews, so I won't this chapter. I am not nagging you for reviews. This is me, not minding whether you review or not. I'm not going to nag you. I'm not. Nope. No.**

**(butyoucouldalwaysreviewifyou wantedto)**

**See you soon!**

***Disappears in a puff of smoke***


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N – It's good to see you all again! Sorry there hasn't been much action from Arthur and the knights, but there'll be some next chapter. **

**I decided to try meditating yesterday. You're supposed to think of nothing, so me being me, I wrote the entire chapter in my head. Damn Lotus position.**

**When Merlin is on his way to the cells I probably get the geography of the castle quite wrong, but if you are happy to watch a show with MAGIC and DRAGONS then I'm sure you can believe this. Just nod and smile.**

***Warning for deaths at the end* *No, not character deaths, calm down jeez***

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"They may be called the Palace Guard, the City Guard, or the Patrol. Whatever the name, their purpose in any work of heroic fantasy is identical: it is, round about Chapter Three (or ten minutes into the film) to rush into the room, attack the hero one at a time, and be slaughtered. No one ever asks them if they want to."― Guards! Guards! , Terry Pratchett

* * *

Rain fell, like a bucket being emptied, on the cobbles. Merlin felt water seep into his boots as he put his foot in a puddle. He was taking a shortcut through the courtyard and wasn't paying close enough attention to where he was running. Grimacing, he carried on, trying to ignore the horrible squelching noise coming from his socks.

Merlin had noticed something... _strange._ Apart, of course, from the fact that Morgana lay unconscious in her chambers, and Arthur was in the dungeons, and this blasted _rain_, the castle had seemed to be running smoothly until a few minutes ago.

Howling wind whistled eerily through the portcullis, and Merlin decided against investigating – finding Arthur was the more pressing issue.

Footsteps echoed against the stone walls and roof of the corridor that led to the dungeons. This was really strange. Merlin couldn't quite put his finger on _why, _though.

When suddenly, he realised. On a journey from one end of the castle to the other – a castle that contained close to five hundred people - Merlin had not encountered a single guard, cook, servant, blacksmith, armourer or even one of Morgana's numerous henchmen, since he woke up that morning. This was not a random attack. There was a plan.

* * *

Tarrian hammered on the solid wooden door.

"Let me out! Let me out or I swear _you will regret it dearly!"_

"Oh, I'm sure I won't." Ignitrus' voice slithered through the cracks at the side of the door frame, "But I know that you will, my friend. Very,_ very _dearly."

Somehow, Ignitrus must have found out about the guards that didn't turn to Morgana. The guards had split three ways – the loyal and honourable followed Arthur, the easily influenced, who had been affected by Morgana's sob stories followed her, and the power-hungry followed Ignitrus. When Tarrian ran yelling into the armoury, he found around two dozen of the Resistance guards there on their break, leaving eighteen still out patrolling the castle. That was the name they had given themselves – The Resistance. He quickly sent the remaining followers of Morgana on errands to the other side of the castle. They couldn't be trusted. He didn't know whether they were chasing or rescuing, only that on the way he had found the royal seal of House Ignitrus lying on the ground, covered in blood.

If Ignitrus was injured, Tarrian would_, of course, _help him. He would, however, _very unfortunately_, die of his extensive injuries. If Ignitrus was the one who had been doing the injuring, then he would also, _very unfortunately_, die of his injuries. Just... not the ones sustained in the attack.

Tarrian had wanted only the guards he would trust with his life to protect him on a mission like this.

However, they were now trapped in the armoury, as just as they were getting ready to leave, the huge, siege-reinforced doors had swung shut. Tarrian couldn't believe he had been that stupid.

"I will _never _be your friend, Ignitrus. The time for reconciliation has passed. Too many souls have been murdered with your hands."

"Ouch, Tarrian Blackcoat, that almost hurt. See you soon – well, I suppose for you it will be a lifetime. The next time I see you, I will have control of the castle, and you and your Resistance Guards will all hang." With that, Ignitrus walked off down the corridor, in the direction of the cells.

A young man with curly black hair pulled him away from the door, and he looked down at his bleeding knuckles.

* * *

Merlin felt his heart beating louder and louder in his chest as he crept around the last corner before the cells. This was where he would find out what had happened to the guards. Two paces in front of where he was standing was a store cupboard, which may or may not contain the bodies of the eight guards that should have been patrolling this corridor.

A shadow moved in the dying firelight and Merlin flattened himself against the wall.

"Ignitrus should be here soon. If we start walking up the corridor now, we'll save ourselves some time." Footsteps came closer.

Merlin ran forward and wrenched open the cupboard door, shoving himself inside. He pulled the door shut, leaving only an inch open so he could watch the passing guards.

They both had a strip of yellow cloth tied around their arms, which Merlin recognised as the colours of House Ignitrus. Virius Ignitrus, to be exact. Waiting until they had passed, Merlin was about to leave when he heard something.

_Splash._

He looked behind him, and could just make out in the dingy light, the bodies of the eight guards. They were piled on top of each other and none of them had the strip of cloth tied around each other. The ones with swords appeared to have had their throats cut, and the ones without them had their necks bent in strange ways. The splash had been a drop of blood into a small pool of water, under the window.

Merlin steeled himself. They were just bodies. He had seen one of them cheering as Gwaine was hit with a sword in a fight earlier. He quickly grabbed one of their swords, then rushed out and shut the door behind him.

He held the sword in front of him, and stepped around the corner.

* * *

**As always, hope you enjoyed! Seeing as I ****_didn't _****nag you for reviews last chapter, **

**PLEASE REVIEW.**

**Thank you and see you soon, fellow Merlinians!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N - Hello, hello! **

**I was going to write this yesterday but I had to do some homework, which I should have done on Sunday but instead I went to see Les Mis which was- DO YOU HEAR THE PEOPLE SING? SINGING THE SONG OF ANGRY MEN– sorry, that keeps happening. Apparently spontaneous singing is contagious.**

**In other news, IT HAS SNOWED *cue screaming from most Londoners*. In my part of England (up North with the sheep and tractors oooh arr etc. etc.), this happens pretty much every year but everyone still gets really overexcited - me included. There's about 5cm on my window ledge which I think qualifies as being snowed in. **

**Anyway, on with the story!**

* * *

"Bran thought about it. 'Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?'  
'That is the only time a man can be brave,' his father told him."  
― A Game of Thrones,George R.R. Martin

* * *

Tarrian sat down heavily on a wooden bench. He had to think about this. After years of trying different methods, Tarrian had found that the best way to form an escape plan was to sit down and _think. _In_ silence. _Which was hard when over two dozen spooked guards – who weren't exactly intelligent, at the best of times – were currently pacing around the room.

"Everybody _shut up! _I am trying to think of a way out of here and I can't hear myself think!"

With mumbled apologies, the guards sat down on the benches and stopped their worried talking.

Tarrian breathed slowly, _in_ and _out_. Right. He had to think this through.

They were locked in the armoury.

Ignitrus had never been in the armoury, to the best of his knowledge.

Ignitrus had never fought in a war.

Ignitrus probably thought that there were only swords and spears in an armoury.

He probably thought an "honourable" war was fought with swords and spears and nothing else.

He probably didn't realise that the armoury was where Arthur kept the old battering ram.

Tarrian stood up and looked over at the large shape in the corner that was usually used to hold saddles.

* * *

Taking a deep breath Merlin stepped round the corner. He would have liked to distract the guards somehow, but he had no time and it was too dangerous.

Sitting at the table were two guards. As they saw him, they jumped to their feet and drew their swords.

Before they had a chance to react, Merlin screamed a spell and they slammed backwards into the wall. He could tell from the horrifying crunch as they hit the wall that they were dead. Merlin turned to the side and noticed the sword just in time to stop it.

There had been two guards. In the dungeons there were always _three. _

"Your magic won't work on me, scum." The guard spat, swinging his sword. Merlin realised he must have been enchanted by Ignitrus to resist spells - the irises of his eyes were entirely silver.

Merlin jumped backwards as the man advanced. Arthur had taught him the basics of sword fighting years ago, but nothing requiring this much skill. He swung the sword as fast as he could, but changed his aim from the man's stomach to his legs in less than a second.

The guard roared as a line of blood appeared on his light-coloured breeches. He swung his long blade in a rash, angry attack on Merlin's neck and he ducked.

Merlin whispered something and his blue eyes glowed gold as a snake of rope darted out from behind a barrel and wrapped around his assailant's legs.

Bellowing, the guard fell to the floor and started to drag himself towards his sword. Merlin dived to pick it up, but too late. As he bent down, the guard gripped the sword and stabbed Merlin's shoulder.

Merlin yelled in pain and fell back against the table. The guard pulled the rope from his legs and stood up. He started to walk towards Merlin and raised the blood-stained sword above his head. The blow would kill Merlin easily.

Merlin was frantically trying to muster some magic, anything that could distract the guard, but his body seemed to be focussed on the wound and not on the more urgent threat of impending death.

He closed his eyes and sat still, willing for the death to be quick, for there to be no pain-

The blow didn't come.

He opened his eyes and looked up. The guard was still standing there, sword raised, but there was a long, thin blade protruding from his chest. Gasping, the sword fell from his hands and he slowly collapsed to the floor.

Behind him stood Tarrian, smiling.

"Seems you were in a bit of trouble there, eh boy?"

"Tarrian, I am wounded, I was about to be killed, unknown numbers are dead, the castle is under attack and you summarise it as _a bit of trouble?_" Merlin replied incredulously.

They both laughed and Tarrian pulled Merlin from the ground. He winced as he saw the blood swelling from under Merlin's neckerchief.

Before he could say anything, however, a shout came from down the corridor.

"Tarrian! It's Ignitrus – we've found him!"

Everyone rushed to the door, but allowed Tarrian to go through first. Merlin noticed the respect in their eyes as they looked at Tarrian- no, they were looking at _him._ Why would the guards pay him such respect?

He didn't have time to ponder it any longer as they had reached the door to the largest cell, the one where they must have been keeping Arthur. Merlin felt dread sink in his stomach like a stone. How long had Ignitrus been in there...?

He walked in through the door, and gasped.

In the centre of the cell knelt Ignitrus, with a sword pressed to his throat by Arthur. Gwaine and Percival stood on each side of him, each with a hand pressed on his shoulder.

"It seems we aren't needed here," said Tarrian. "You look like you've got the situation under control without our help!"

Arthur smiled at Tarrian, and broke into a wide-mouthed grin when he saw Merlin. He did, however, manage this show of affection without letting the sword move an inch.

"This _idiot,"_ Leon kicked Ignitrus as he said it, "thought he could just come in here with a sword and we would give in and die. He was going to kill six of us with one sword. How he managed to make it down to the cells is beyond me. We would have escaped if he hadn't managed to shut the door and _leave his keys on the other side."_

Ignitrus looked up and Merlin could see that his eyes were a dark brown, so dark they were almost black.

"It seems," he said quietly, "that I am a genius except when it comes to battle strategies."

"_Shut up._" Gwaine snarled.

Ignitrus seemed to sigh for a moment, then returned to his previous defeated stance.

Merlin, who had been watching this all with interest, suddenly realised that he had lost a lot more blood than he'd thought. His vision went black and he collapsed to the floor.

* * *

**So, did you like it?**

**There was no need to worry about Tarrian, he wasn't going anywhere. I just like playing with people's minds. *evil laughter***

**See you all soon!**

**P.S – Happy Reichenbach anniversary to all the Sherlockians!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N – Hello again!**

**As requested, I'm going to try to make this chapter longer than my usual 1000 words. **

**As my UK friends will know, the snow just got serious. It's currently blizzarding (if that's a word?). If you don't hear from me again in a week, I've died like in The Day after Tomorrow.**

* * *

"There are infinite numbers between 0 and 1. There's .1 and .12 and .112 and an infinite collection of others. Of course, there is a bigger infinite set of numbers between 0 and 2, or between 0 and a million. Some infinities are bigger than other infinities. A writer we used to like taught us that. There are days, many of them, when I resent the size of my unbounded set. I want more numbers than I'm likely to get, and God, I want more numbers for Augustus Waters than he got. But, Gus, my love, I cannot tell you how thankful I am for our little infinity. I wouldn't trade it for the world. You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I'm grateful."  
― The Fault in Our Stars, John Green

* * *

The rain had finally stopped. Every so often, a single droplet of water would slide down the window like a tear. Rustling softly, the trees in the distance comforted Merlin. He had always been comforted by trees – something about the beauty and the sturdiness of them seemed to calm him.

He fully opened his eyes and groaned slightly.

"Merlin! You're awake!" Arthur rushed to the side of the bed and knelt down.

"Really? I hadn't noticed," said Merlin.

"Don't make jokes when you are injured. Your wit is greatly impeded."

Merlin pushed himself up with his hands and his head began to spin. He looked over at Arthur and saw that there was something wrong; the usual happiness in Arthur's eyes had been replaced by a sad, desolate look. Merlin felt dread rise from the pit of his stomach.

"Arthur? Wha- what's wrong? What's happened?"

Arthur turned away, and his shoulders seemed to fold in on themselves as if he was trying to shut out the world. He said nothing.

"Arthur. _Tell me."_ Merlin was beginning to panic.

Arthur sighed, and turned to face Merlin.

"Gaius told me not to tell you until you were healed, but I think it would worry you more not to know. Merlin, I'm so sorry..."

* * *

Merlin, who had been watching this all with interest, suddenly realised that he had lost a rather large amount of blood. His vision went black and he collapsed to the floor.

The knights immediately started to move towards him, but Gaius stopped them all with a shout.

"No! You must secure the prisoner! I will look after Merlin, but I need to get him back to my chambers."

"Ignitrus' soldiers are still out there, and they don't know he is captured. They would kill you on sight," Leon interjected.

"You could make Ignitrus walk in front of you at swordpoint, then they would have to let you through," Gwaine suggested.

"No, too risky. He is a sorcerer and could easily escape if we take the sword from his throat," said Arthur. "Take Leon and Percival with you. They are capable of fighting off any guards you come across. We will stay here – a small group is less likely to be noticed, and though we will have to fight eventually our main aim at the moment is to get Merlin to safety."

Gwen's voice rang across the room. "I want to go."

"No way. I am _not_ letting you go out there when it is so dangerous." Arthur retorted.

"_Please,_ Arthur. I can help nurse Merlin, and I cannot bear to be in this cell any longer."

Gaius looked up. "Sire, we may not have much longer to help Merlin! We can't waste this time arguing!"

"Fine then, go!" Gwen rushed past Arthur as Percival heaved Merlin over his shoulder.

"Gwen!" Arthur shouted after her. "I love you!"

"And I you, my darling."

* * *

A tear rolled down Arthur's face and dripped from his chin onto the bedcovers.

"Go on." Merlin's voice was barely a whisper.

* * *

Leon ran in front of Percival, who was travelling impressively fast for someone bearing twice the weight as the rest of the group. Gaius was running alongside Gwen, just behind them. She was holding his hand and urging him onwards – he was old and malnourished, so it was hard to keep up.

Just as the group reached a corner, Leon skidded to a halt.

"Get back! Hostile guards ahead!" As everyone pressed themselves to the wall, he raised his sword cautiously, breath forming clouds in the cold air.

Slowly, Leon eased himself round the corner. Seven guards stood with their backs to him, sharing a drink from a flask. He raised his sword and sprinted towards them, roaring.

The first two fell with a swing of his sword. And the next.

When the blow came, Leon didn't feel anything.

Percival peered round the corner and gasped when he saw his fallen friend. Throwing Merlin to the ground, he gripped the hilt of his sword and bared his teeth.

"_No." _Gaius whispered, grabbing his shoulder. "There is no way you'd survive. We need you here."

They were silent for a moment as the guards spoke.

"Must have been alone. I bet Ignitrus let him loose as a training exercise! You know, the one he was talking about yesterday."

"I think you're right. We should leave the body here so the next patrol knows we've got him."

"Yeah!" He laughed, a deep, throaty sound that almost made Gwen retch.

"We need a distraction!" Gwen whispered to Gaius.

"With Merlin unconscious, there is no way to make one. We'll have to find another way," Gaius said, looking over at Percival. "_Percival! _We need you to be alert."

Percival turned to Gaius, tears in his eyes. "He's _dead. _There's no_ point."_

"There will be a time for grief, Percival, but this is not it. You must be strong." Gaius said.

From further down the corridor, past the guards, a shout rang out -"Guard change!"

"This is our chance!" Gwen gasped, "Arthur explained this to me – the castle guards work on a rotation system. The new guards will come from behind us, and the ones in front will move to the next post. The corridor leading to your chambers is in between the two posts! We have to go now!"

As the guards around the corner began to move away, they followed them. Percival picked up Merlin and they crept round the corner then quickly ran down the corridor. Reaching the body of Leon, Percival turned his face away and continued past him. Gaius looked sadly down for a moment and then followed Percival.

When Gwen reached him, she stopped. She quickly knelt down and pressed her slim fingers to his neck.

"There's a pulse! He's still alive – come back!" Gwen looked closer at the wound on his head. It was a mess of blood, but it looked like the sword that had struck him had only knocked him out.

What happened next, Percival only remembered in slow motion. He remembered running back down the everlasting corridor. He remembered seeing Leon in Gwen's arms. He remembered the next guard patrol arriving behind them. He remembered a crossbow bolt. He remembered blood. He remembered the light leaving Gwen's eyes. He remembered screaming.

* * *

**A/N – Okay, I was going to do a bit more but I've been really busy this weekend! **

**See you soon.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N – Greetings my wonderful readers! I'm sorry for the events of last chapter, but all stories must have an element of tragedy.**

**I've been a bit ill this week (You have one job, intestine, ONE JOB) so I haven't been writing until now. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Tell me one last thing," said Harry. "Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?"  
"Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?" - J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

* * *

The air was cold, and bit with sharp teeth of ice.

Morgana awoke slowly and looked up.

"My Lady is awake! Brigg, come and bow to the Lady!" A guard jeered at her through the bars of her cell.

Not even bothering to look up, Morgana muttered a spell. Nothing happened. Looking down at her wrists and seeing the chains binding them, she _screamed._

* * *

Flowers burned. Gaius followed the strange scent to Arthur's chambers and found him at his table, surrounded by bright, burning blooms.

The bright pinks combined with orange flames to create a beautiful sunset of colour.

"Sire?"

"I'm burning them, Gaius. I thought that they could be with Gwen. That's true, isn't it?" Arthur turned to Gaius with tear-filled eyes. "Beautiful things go to heaven when they die?"

* * *

Merlin was getting better by the day. He could stand now, and he had even been to visit Leon, who was also recovering well. When the knight had awoken, he had been unable to see and thought he was blind, but his sight had returned to him the next day. He hadn't seen Arthur since he came to tell him about Gwen.

Gaius had been angry with Arthur for telling him at first, but he soon calmed down when he realised that Merlin wasn't hysterical.

Well, hysterical on the outside.

* * *

A cart slowly trundled down the dust track leading away from the castle. Arthur was watching it from the parapet.

A gust of wind suddenly blew, and the white tarpaulin covering the cart suddenly billowed up. In it were the bodies of the guards lost in what had now become known as "The Battle of the Pendragons".

It was a strange name, really, seeing as Morgana spent most of it unconscious, and her guards spent most of it dead.

Apparently "The Battle of Tarrian the Guard and Ignitrus the Traitor" didn't have the same ring to it.

* * *

Merlin slowly walked along the corridor to visit Arthur. Neither the king nor the servant had left their separate chambers in days, and the kingdom had begun to worry. Merlin had been lying awake the previous night and had decided to try to convince Arthur to do something – _anything. _

Reaching the door, he knocked twice and then entered straight after, not leaving Arthur enough time to yell, "I'm not here!"

Arthur was spread-eagled on his bed. He looked up at Merlin.

"Oh, it's you. Good to see you walking around again."

"I _was_ stabbed in the shoulder, not the leg, you know!" Arthur's mouth smiled, but his eyes did not.

Merlin pulled a chair to the side of the bed with his good arm, and sat down.

"I came to talk to you. You haven't been seen in public for over a dozen days. The people are starting to worry – I even heard of a rumour of your death being passed around in the outlying villages. It won't be long until the other kingdoms hear about this and formulate plans of attack. The people need a _king_." Merlin sighed and looked down at his clasped hands. "Please, Arthur."

"I'm sorry, Merlin, I can't. I'm not ready. Leon and Tarrian are managing well in my place."

"But Leon and Tarrian cannot rule the kingdom indefinitely! They are capable, yes, but the people need a figurehead. They need someone to look up to, someone to trust with their safety. To them, Tarrian is simply the leader of the guards and Leon is, whilst highly respected, still just a knight! I know it's hard-"

"You know nothing, Merlin, _nothing, _of what it is like for me."

"Sire, please, don't forget I lost my father. I _know._" Merlin spoke softly, not wanting to hurt Arthur - or let Arthur's words hurt him.

"I'm sorry Merlin. That was... insensitive. I just can't. Not yet." Arthur turned away from Merlin and sighed. Merlin placed a hand on his shoulder and muttered the familiar sleeping spell. It had been the only way Arthur could get restful, dreamless sleep in the past few weeks.

As Arthur's breathing slowed, Merlin stood up and sent the chair back to its original place using magic. He tried to use magic as little as possible around Arthur until he became fully comfortable with it. Whilst he was improving, Merlin still spotted a note of fear in his eyes every time he used a particularly visible spell.

He closed the door behind him and walked back down the silent corridor.

* * *

Arthur felt the warm feeling of an enchanted sleep wrap around him. It was the only time he could think of where total darkness was comforting and warm. The best way to describe it would be that it was like being in the womb again.

He never dreamed in an enchanted sleep, which was why he was surprised when he found himself riding through a sunlit forest. The light dappled onto tree trunks with ivy twined around them, and a warm breeze ruffled his hair. The horse he was riding was bright white – a true white. Most horses with white hair have black skin, so are technically grey, but a horse with white skin _and_ white hair, like the one he was riding, was truly white.

He was also surprised that he realised he was in a dream – surely that was the point, that you didn't realise until you woke up? Arthur had also never been to this forest before. These things were all adding up on the list of Weird Things About This Dream.

"Maybe that's because it isn't _just_ a dream?" A soft voice laughed behind him.

"Then is it real?" Arthur whispered, not daring to look at the speaker.

"I'll leave that to you to decide."

* * *

**A/N – As always, review/favourites/follows/llamas are greatly appreciated!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N – Hellohellohello! Good to see you all again!**

**I've been quite busy lately with homework, but I'm sure my psychology teacher will understand that fanfiction is more important than studies on prejudice.**

**Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"The true paradises are the paradises that we have lost." - Marcel Proust

* * *

"I'll leave that to you to decide."

Arthur stopped his horse. He looked up at the blue sky. It was the blue of lagoons and forget-me-nots, a newborn baby's eyes and a butterfly's wings all combined to create a majestic sweep of colour.

The sounds of a lute and a flute combined to create a twisting melody that seemed to originate from the trees themselves.

Breathing in, he could smell pine trees and freshness and _life. _

He simply sat, savouring it all, the happiness and perfection of that moment. Then, he turned to look behind him.

* * *

"Order! _Order!"_ Leon barked at the loud rabble surrounding the round table.

"We demand food!" A merchant shouted, his hands spread palms-downwards on the table.

"How are we supposed to live?" A woman with a long brown plait asked, more calmly than the farmer next to her. "We depend on the carts."

Tarrian finally looked up from the dragon he had been carving into the wooden table. He really wasn't cut out for this. An army? A tyrant? Easy. But angry peasants, probably only a day away from bringing out the pitchforks?

He'd had enough.

"_Silence!_" He boomed. "You all know well enough that Leon can't do any more about the supply train delay than you can. As Sir Leon has told you, we sent a rider down yesterday and he returned saying that the carts were stuck in a boggy patch caused by the rain. They will be here in a few days, so I would appreciate it if you would _stop panicking_, and think for a moment." He looked around at the now silent peasants. "We can survive comfortably on the grain reserves until they arrive. I would appreciate it if you would let your customers in the lower town know this, as earlier I heard of rumours being spread of an outbreak of plague causing all the food-sellers to die instantly. If we have an uprising on our hands because of you, I will personally make sure that the _rumours_ become _truth._"

Silence echoed around the room.

"I believe that will be all?" Tarrian asked, in a voice that suggested that anyone who dared say otherwise would be immediately decapitated.

He sat back down and carved a crooked smile onto the dragon's face as the hurried footsteps of the fleeing peasants died away.

Leon sat down heavily next to him and grinned.

* * *

Morgana had never felt so weak. She could do nothing to harm the taunting guards, who visited every day like clockwork.

She was lying on her bed, a ragged blanket covering her. Footsteps sounded in the corridor but she didn't bother to look up. Probably the guards again.

"Morgana."

She sat up sharply. It was Merlin.

* * *

"Hello again, my darling."

Gwen's voice sounded so real that Arthur was sure he couldn't be dreaming. He _couldn't _be.

"Gwen-" He started to say, but his voice caught in his throat.

"It's okay, Arthur, you don't have to speak," Gwen laughed. "I know this is a surprise. I have come to tell you that you must stop grieving for me, and take control of the kingdom once more."

"But I can't. Everything I look at reminds me of you. The throne in the corner that once was yours. The dresses in the wardrobe I can't bear to move. I can't go back." Arthur had dismounted his horse, and was slowly pacing through the lush forest, hand-in-hand with Gwen.

She turned to him and smiled, cupping his face with one hand. "My brave, brave king. I know this is hard for you, but you must not think of yourself. This is the duty of a king. _You must move on._"

* * *

Morgana narrowed her eyes and hunched her shoulders, chains clinking as she moved.

"Morgana. I want to talk." Merlin dragged a chair up to the bars and sat down, groaning slightly as he did so.

"I see you were wounded in the battle." Morgana commented with a note of satisfaction in her voice.

"I was stabbed in the shoulder. It's healing well, if you're inter-"

"I don't care. Leave me."

"No. I want to talk. I will wait here until you're ready." Merlin looked straight at her until she felt she would ignite if someone didn't break the silence.

"I will talk to you, if you'll remove _these_." She shook the chains.

"No. Why didn't you just kill Arthur when you took the castle? In fact, why didn't you just kill _me?"_

Morgana set her jaw and said nothing. Merlin glanced over to a cell further down the corridor, where a faint _thud _came from behind the door. Morgana followed his line of vision and stared at the door.

"That'll be Tarrian interrogating Ignitrus. You know, I was the one that treated you after he attacked you. You were bleeding everywhere."

Another thud and a faint moan.

Merlin winced and folded his arms, ignoring the pain in his shoulder. Appearance was everything. "They've been discussing your interrogation. Tarrian wanted to start a few days ago, but I asked to try the gentle approach first. Are you _sure_ that you aren't going to talk?"

Morgana's blank expression had evolved into a slightly worried one.

"I-" She began.

One final thud and another noise that sounded a lot like someone collapsing.

"Oh dear," Merlin sighed. "It seems Tarrian is finished in there. He'll be here next." He got up as if he was going to leave.

"No, _no! Wait!_ I'll talk!" Morgana's eyes widened as Merlin stopped.

"Now, that's more like it."

* * *

Gwaine pushed open the heavy door to Arthur's chambers and stepped inside. To his surprise, the king was washed and shaved.

"Arthur!" He exclaimed incredulously. In the past few weeks, Gwaine had never seen Arthur so positive. He walked forward to the table where Arthur was sitting, bent over some parchment.

"What are y- _oh_." He said, seeing what was drawn on the parchment.

It was a picture of Gwen. Every detail was perfect, from the slight upturn at the corner of her mouth to the dark curls that hung around her shoulders.

Arthur looked up at Gwaine and smiled.

* * *

Half an hour later, Merlin left Morgana shaking in her cell and walked down the corridor. He unlocked Ignitrus' cell and stepped inside. Tarrian stood in the corner, smiling. Ignitrus was on the bed, completely unharmed. A battered training dummy with the stuffing trailing out was lying on the ground.

"Thank you for your help, my friend," said Merlin. He turned to Ignitrus, "and thank you for your co-operation. Those groans were _very_ realistic."

"Did it work? Did you find anything out?" Tarrian said.

"It worked beautifully, my friend. We must gather the knights for a meeting."

* * *

**A/N – And another chapter completed! **

**In the scene with the peasants at the start, I was going to have the peasants argue more but Tarrian was like "lol, no", and just took over the scene.**

**I'm probably going to start updating weekly, with Tuesday as my publishing day.**

**See you all soon!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N – Bonjour! **

**To all my UK friends, happy Pancake Day! I intend to eat hundreds, smothered in golden syrup... ahhhh...**

**Anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

**Oh, and natcel, I can't thank you in a message because you're a guest, so I'll thank you here... er thank you!**

* * *

"Forgive me, I'm trying to find  
My calling, I'm calling at night  
I don't mean to be a bother,  
But have you seen this girl?  
She's been running through my dreams  
And it's driving me crazy, it seems  
I'm going to ask her to marry me" – Remembering Sunday, All Time Low

* * *

Merlin pushed the door of Arthur's chambers open and stepped inside.

Arthur was on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Merlin's heart sank.

"I thought you were feeling better, sire?" Merlin said. Arthur turned to him quickly.

"_Merlin._ I was just trying to get to sleep." Arthur sighed.

"But... didn't you sleep at night?" Merlin asked, confused. "It's only just noon! Anyway, I came to tell you to come to the round table in two minutes. Bye." He finished the sentence and walked quickly to the door before Arthur could ask questions.

Arthur sighed again and flopped back onto the bed. He wouldn't have time to sleep now. He must see Gwen again, though, and soon. It was strange, every time he saw her she seemed to speak less and less – as if she was trying to wean him off visiting her. Arthur decided simply to sleep more.

* * *

"Is everyone here?" Merlin asked, impatiently.

"Not yet, Merlin." Tarrian replied. He was sprawled in a large chair, with his arms folded and one leg crossed over the other. "We're still waiting for Leon."

Merlin sat down and looked at the dragon carved in the table in front of him.

"I see you've been thinking recently." He observed.

"How do you know?" Tarrian asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You always destroy things when you think. Lucky it doesn't happen very often." Merlin smiled cheekily and Tarrian leant forward and slapped Merlin round the head with his brown leather glove.

Hurried footsteps sounded down the corridor and Leon walked through the doors, looking worried.

"Sorry I'm late. Sorry!" He sat in his chair and Merlin looked out at the full table of people.

"If I could, sire..?" He dipped his head to Arthur.

"Of course. Tell us everything!" Arthur smiled.

"Well, as you all probably know by now, we interrogated Morgana earlier and found out some very interesting information. She told us that Ignitrus had this all planned. Apparently, he told her that he had to attack her as part of the plan. He was going to lead a revolution with his guards and take the castle. It seems that he didn't plan to be captured though." Merlin said.

* * *

"Ignitrus, what are you doing?" Morgana called down the corridor. She could hear a quiet scraping coming from inside his door. Suddenly, a loud crash and bright light filled the air, blinding her.

* * *

"But that doesn't make sense. Why would he _attack _Morgana instead of simply arresting her when he had the castle?" Gwaine asked.

"I-" Merlin began.

"Yeah! And why did he come into our cell so badly unprepared? He could have just left us there." Percival added.

"They have a point Merlin." Arthur said.

Merlin shut his eyes for a moment, and when he reopened them his expression had changed.

"He planned this. All of it. Oh god, everyone's here... Tarrian! Where are the guards?"

Tarrian creased his eyebrows together as he spoke. "Well, the bulk of them would usually be by the cells now, but when there is a meeting involving the knights and the king they change patrols so that most of them are around the Great Hall."

"_Oh n-_" Before Merlin could finish speaking, Tarrian had reached the door.

* * *

The singed door hung off its hinges. Ignitrus stepped through, his movements calculated and cold.

"Ignitrus!" Morgana coughed and peered at him through the haze of dust. "This is it, isn't it? The break-out?"

Ignitrus ignored her. Stupid girl. She'd believed all the lies he fed her.

He strode confidently towards the stables. By his calculations, he had approximately two minutes until the knights figured it out and found his cell destroyed, along with the lone guard he'd killed in the escape. Honestly, what self respecting guard stands _right behind_ a door when it's obvious that exploding dust is being laid? It had been nice of the druids to give him the dust actually – not that they'd had much choice, being tied up at the time. He had been going to kill them, but druids were a clever race and he despised killing those of high intellect.

He reached the stable and walked straight in, pushing a gawping groom out of the way. He could kill him later. Right at the back of the long stable block, a bay mare flared her nostrils at him nervously. Ignitrus grabbed a saddle and buckled the girth in a matter of seconds. He swung onto her back and started to trot out onto the courtyard.

4... 3... 2... and yes, he'd timed it perfectly. People spilled out of the doors onto the courtyard.

At the front of the crowd sprinted Gwaine, closely followed by Percival and an out-of-breath Tarrian. Just as they reached halfway, Ignitrus kicked the mare hard in the side and they galloped off, out of the portcullis. It then closed behind them, preventing the knights from following. Ignitrus laughed as he realised just how perfectly he had executed this particular stage of the plan.

"_No!" _screamed Gwaine, pressing his face to the iron bars of the portcullis.

Tarrian reached the bars and slammed his fist against them, venting his anger in a half-scream half-roar.

"Who shut the portcullis?" He growled, fists clenched.

"It's my fault," Arthur panted as he caught up. "I told the guards to put the palace in lockdown. You can't see the courtyard from where the portcullis is lowered. They had no way of knowing he was already through. I'm sorry."

* * *

**That's it for this week, folks! I'm off to do my French homework, revise psychology and revise for my science ISA... D: At least it's half term holiday next week, so I plan to write the next few chapters in advance so that they'll be uploaded every Tuesday, on time!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N – Greetings! I have so far spent my week sleeping and watching videos like this watch?v=sYyh6e5Dedg&list=UUBm4JMlxAGZbGGf_8eKYGaw&index=1 on youtube. I seriously need to do something productive with my time. **

**The quote isn't really to do with the chapter, but more to do with Merlin and Arthur both trying to understand magic and how fits into society. Brian Cox is someone I really look up to.**

* * *

"You dig deeper and it gets more and more complicated, and you get confused, and it's tricky and it's hard, but... It is beautiful."  
― Brian Cox

* * *

"Shut up! I need to concentrate." Merlin growled.

"Concentrate on wha-" Gwaine began to say, before Tarrian elbowed him hard in the ribs.

Turning, Tarrian gestured to the stunned stable boy who was watching events with his mouth hanging open.

"Ready the horses!"

"How many?" The stable boy asked, eyes wide.

"_All of them."_

Merlin placed both hands on the bars of the portcullis. It would take too long for them to wind it up by hand – he had to do this. He shut his eyes and breathed deeply.

Memories of his childhood flashed through his mind. A small boy with dark hair running through a field of golden wheat.

With a flash, the portcullis shot upwards and the rope wound around it, holding it in place. People around Merlin gasped and clapped him on the back.

"Well done Merlin!" Gwaine said, nodding to him.

Merlin turned to Arthur, who was watching him with slight apprehension in his eyes. He sighed.

"Haven't you got over this yet?" Merlin asked.

The apprehension drained from Arthur's face as he realised that Merlin was disappointed in him. "Give me time," he said quietly.

The boy came running out of the stable clinging to a horse's reins in each hand. Arthur and Percival ran up to their mounts and vaulted on effortlessly. Quickly looking over the bridge Ignitrus had escaped on, Merlin realised there was no sign of him. This wasn't a problem now though, as Merlin could use his magic to see where he had gone. That was one of the many good things about everyone knowing he had magic.

Nearly all the knights were on their horses now. Merlin quickly mounted and as Arthur shouted some loud commands over the loud clamouring, the knights and Merlin galloped out of the castle in a long formation.

* * *

Gaius had chosen to stay behind. He felt that he would only slow the knights down, and his skill as a physician was only marginally better than Merlin's. Sighing, he sat down and started to crush some herbs for a potion.

He didn't notice the glowing amulet covered in dust and tucked away at the back of one of his shelves. In fact, no-one had noticed it for years.

Except one person.

* * *

"This way!" Merlin yelled back to the knights following him. They were cantering through a thick forest and the light was quickly fading. They swerved left at a fork in the road, going deeper into the forest.

The air was heavy with the smell of pine trees and moss, and as the sun began to dip below the horizon, long shadows streamed out behind the horses. The sound of hooves pounding the ground was muffled by the thick layer of leaves and pine needles.

"We should camp here," Leon said to Arthur. "If we continue without the sunlight, the horses will get tired and lose their footing. We _can't_ have lame horses."

Arthur sighed and nodded. "We'll stop here. Give the command."

As Leon shouted to the other riders, Arthur noticed a marking carved into the trunk of a tree.

"Merlin!" He shouting, grabbing his manservant's attention.

"Yes, sire?"

"What does this marking mean?" He nodded in the direction of the tree.

Merlin tilted his head in thought for a moment.

"That... means... oh yes, it's a marker for an old tribe of druids that used to live here. They were lost in the Great Purge."

"Just another harmless group of sorcerers murdered by my father." Arthur stated, his face emotionless.

Merlin opened his mouth but stopped, not knowing what to say. His forehead creased as he stared at the ancient marking.

"What your father did... it has nothing to do with you Arthur, or your actions. You are a good person. You have accepted me as the person I truly am, and though you were scared at first, you learned. That is what makes you strong, Arthur. Your ability to learn, and to see the truth behind the lies."

"Thank you Merlin," Arthur said, smiling. "I would give you a manly clap on the back or something at this point if we weren't on horses. I think mine wants to kill me!"

They both laughed, but knew that what Merlin had said was true.

* * *

Arthur padded through the silent forest. The full moon hung above the trees and as Arthur stared at the sky more and more stars appeared. He craned his neck, looking into the deep sky. His breath formed clouds of silver on the cold air.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Gwen said, clasping Arthur's hand in hers. "I'll be one of those, one day. A star. You'll have to let me go, though."

"Let you go?" Arthur asked, not moving his eyes from the stars. An owl hooted somewhere behind them.

"Stop coming to visit me. Accept my death."

"No," Arthur whispered. "I can't. Just _stay_ with me for a while."

"I have to go Arthur. You being able to see me... it's wrong. It shouldn't be happening. And I have to go." Gwen held his hand tighter, then began to loosen her grip.

"No, I-I don't want you to, no!" Arthur began to panic and stared into Gwen's face with tear-filled eyes. "Don't leave me on my own."

"I'm sorry, my love." Gwen faded into the night.

Arthur sobbed and sank to the ground. He curled up under the low branches of a tree and drifted off into a fitful sleep.

* * *

Merlin had been watching Arthur for a few minutes now. He had woken up after a twig fell on him and noticed that Arthur was tossing and turning rapidly. He crept closer to him and heard the words that Arthur was feverishly whispering. Suddenly Arthur stopped whispering and started sleeping normally, but Merlin had heard enough. Arthur was being visited by the memory of Gwen in his sleep.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed! Did this one make you cry? Hopefully *laughs evilly***

**As always, reviews/follows/favourites make me smile!**

**Thanks to my amazing beta reader Jess, who better at being a beta reader than she is at being a little sister. ONLY JOKING JESS love you really.**

**Jess: ****_Thank you_**

**Also thanks to Mum who included Tarrian in an exam question for University students!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N – Greetings, my brethren of beauty! **

**Must. Stop. Reading. Game of Thrones. Can't. Stop. Reading. Game of Thrones. Aaaaargh.**

**I'm probably going to bring this story to a close soon, but I've had a great time writing it! (Of course, when I say soon, that could mean anything from 5-20 chapters)**

* * *

"Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it." - Terry Pratchett

* * *

Ignitrus had been riding for hours now. The insides of his legs were rubbed raw from the unfamiliar saddle. Grimacing, he rubbed his thigh. He didn't have to ride for much longer now, anyway. The fork in the road was just starting to appear ahead of him.

Pulling on the reins, he commanded the horse to stop and dismounted carefully onto his right foot. He made sure that he landed so as to leave one perfect footprint in the thick muddy track, pointing back the way he had come.

Muscles in his arms straining, he pulled himself back onto the horse and set off the other way down the small path, which turned away and headed back towards Camelot. It was lucky he had a strong knowledge of the druid paths or this stage of the plan would not have worked. Now, when Arthur and his band of fools found the footprint, they would set off back to Camelot. Ignitrus would take the shortcut down the other fork in the path, and reach Camelot before they did.

Then the final stage of his plan would come into play.

* * *

Arthur felt a warm sensation fall over him, like the curtain going down on a play. His eyes started to close and his head lolled forwards.

_Thump._

"_Arthur! _Are you okay?" Merlin jumped off his horse and lifted Arthur from the patch of mud where he had fallen.

"Yes, yes. I'm totally... fine..." Arthur's eyes were closing again.

Merlin grabbed him and led him away from the other riders. "We need to have a serious talk."

"You can't tell me what to do_. I'm_ the _king,"_ he slurred.

Merlin sighed heavily and pushed Arthur on the shoulders. He sat down heavily behind a tree and Merlin marched off towards the horses.

He returned a moment later with a bucket of water, which he then threw all over Arthur.

"_What the hell are you doing?" _Arthur half-screamed at him.

"I'm sorry Arthur, but I wasn't going to talk to you in that state."

"I don't – I don't understand," Arthur said, puzzled.

"Then I'll explain. You've been visiting Gwen in your sleep."

Arthur's mouth opened. "How do you-"

"Or at least, you think you have. But it isn't Gwen. The place you've been visiting, it's just a construct of your mind. And Gwen is just a memory." Merlin looked at Arthur with sad eyes.

"_No! _She's real! You can't take her away from me!"

"Arthur, why do you think people grieve? Because when people die, that's the end. You can't go on visiting them. It's my fault really – I shouldn't have put you in an enchanted sleep so many times. Gaius warned me it was a side effect but I didn't take him seriously."

Arthur looked down at his boots. A small green fern was unravelling its first leaf just a few inches away. He leaned back against the tree and felt a new leaf shoot poke him in the back.

"Why is this place so full of life, when she isn't?" Arthur whispered. "Why is this tree allowed so many years, when she had so few?"

Merlin pulled Arthur into a tight hug as Arthur sobbed on his shoulder.

"Come on. We need to catch the man who did this." Merlin said.

* * *

Ignitrus thundered down the muddy track. The horse's hooves skidded across the slippery mud and he wrapped a thick bunch of mane around each hand.

His cloak flew out behind him in the strong wind which had started to blow, making the trees rustle and old leaves blow along the ground.

The horse leaped over a particularly deep patch of bog and his breath left him as they landed. He was not cut out for riding.

That wouldn't matter when he had it, though. Nothing would matter. Not money, not food, not promises of power. He would have everything. At the same time, however, he would have nothing. Ignitrus pondered this for a second, then decided that it would be closer to _everything._

The horse was still galloping along at full speed, which was strange because he had hardly stopped for hours. It had tried to buck him off just after they left Camelot. He'd soon put a stop to that.

* * *

"Oh, no." Merlin said, for the second time that day.

"What? What is it?" Tarrian called out.

"It's a footprint. Ignitrus' footprint. He's heading back to Camelot. He must have gone past us while we slept."

"How could he have got past? We had guards up the entire night. Come to think of it, how do you know it's his footprint?" Tarrian fired back at him.

"There are other ways - old druid paths and suchlike. As for the footprint, Morgana had me clean his shoes when I was serving her. I noticed that the boots he took to wearing had a strange swirl on the heel. They must have been hand-carved. If you look – _here_ – you can see the same swirl in the footprint. In fact, I think it's been left deliberately to lead us this way," he replied.

"Then I think we have two options. Follow the footprint or carry on," Arthur said. "It's unlikely that Ignitrus left this to try to trick us into leaving him and going back to Camelot. I think it's been left as a message."

"He's gloating," Leon sighed. "He's fooled us again. This was just to lead us a way to the castle, so that he could... _do what_?"

"Go back to the undefended castle and kill everyone inside as revenge." Gwaine said quietly from behind them.

"_Go!"_ Tarrian yelled. They kicked their horses on and spun around quickly, galloping back down the path.

They didn't notice the smiling face watching them from the bushes. Ignitrus hadn't been able to control himself - he had to see their faces when they realised they'd been tricked. He'd lost time though, so he'd have to be faster on the way back.

Then, he would finally win this long game. A game of chess between him and the world, and he was one move away from checkmate.

* * *

**Another chapter finished!**

**Pleasepleaseplease review on your way out, I love hearing what you think about my writing!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N – Hello! We're nearing the end of the story now, so I hope you enjoy the last few chapters!**

* * *

"When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives."  
― George R.R. Martin, _A Game of Thrones_

* * *

A small vole snuffled its way through a clump of fallen leaves, in search of insects. Its grey pelt rippled as tiny legs pushed their way through the mud.

A loud thundering sound started in the distance.

It raised its head, then scurried away into the undergrowth as a huge creature - with another creature atop it - galloped past.

After a few minutes, it went back to finding insects.

* * *

Ignitrus was half standing up in the saddle, screaming at the horse to go faster. Froth was dripping from the crazed animal's mouth as it galloped at full speed. There was something about Ignitrus that terrified it, but the mare wasn't sure what– was it the smell? Surely all humans smelled the same?

A branch whipped across Ignitrus' face, leaving a thin welt. He gritted his teeth and snarled. His horse stumbled slightly but managed to right itself before it flung him to the ground. _Lucky it didn't, or I'd have killed it, _he thought.

_He would_ make it to the castle before them_. He would._

* * *

Arthur leaned forward, willing his horse to go faster. Leon and Percival were the strongest riders and were leading the group, with Gwaine bringing up the rear in case anyone was following them. It was unlikely, but Arthur wanted to be sure.

They were nearly in Camelot. Leon came up beside him and yelled over the thunder of hooves hitting the ground.

"Who do you think Ignitrus will target first?"

"I don't know," Arthur yelled back. "Who gave him most cause to kill them?"

"Maybe Gaius? He's the only one left in the castle who he knows well enough." Leon ducked down to avoid a low-hanging branch.

"Okay. We'll split up. Merlin and I will go to Gaius' chambers, and the rest search the castle. Give the order."

As Leon started to shout to the other riders, Arthur noticed that they were nearing the entrance to the castle. He looked over at Merlin and remarked, "Merlin, you might have to be ready to lift the portcullis again."

"Don't worry sire, already on it." Merlin grinned. Arthur recognised it as the smile Merlin showed when he was trying to conceal his nervousness.

When they cleared the trees, Arthur could see that the portcullis was already lifted. He looked over at Merlin enquiringly, who shook his head. _Suspicious. _

They cantered through the portcullis onto the cobbles, dismounting and drawing swords.

_"You know what to do!"_ Arthur commanded. "Go!"

Merlin was the first up the staircase and into the open doors of the castle.

"He wants us to find him," he called down to Arthur.

"And _we_ want us to find him." Arthur replied, his voice a little strained as he caught his breath after the sprint into the castle.

They burst through the door into Gaius' chambers and gasped.

Morgana looked up at them.

"Oh, hello. I thought you'd forgotten about me."

She was standing with Ignitrus kneeling before her at sword point.

"But... _how_ did you get out of the cells?" Merlin asked.

"For God's sake, Merlin. I'm about to kill you both and all you can say is 'how did you get out of the cells?' " She put on a high-pitched, slow voice, as if telling a story to young children.

"Ignitrus and I... we have a little secret that we'd like to share with you, wouldn't we Ignitrus?" She moved the sword at his throat up and down, forcing him to nod. It was then that Merlin noticed the shining amulet hanging from her neck. He'd noticed it before, somewhere...

Morgana had noticed him looking.

"You like it, do you? Well, that's what the secret is all about. Ignitrus and I are siblings. He tried to murder me and left me here alone, but siblings nonetheless. I was born with magic, he without. But we both have one thing in common. We're wargs."

"Wargs?" Arthur asked.

"Werewolves, wargs, wolf-men. Half man, half wolf. We were bitten as children. When my father realised what we were, he trapped our wolf forms in this amulet. I adapted quickly to being in one form, being only a few years old. Ignitrus, however, was older and had grown more used to his other body. He went mad. Father sent him away so that he didn't ruin our reputation as a family. In fact, when I saw him again a few months ago I didn't recognise him. Not until he walked away from me, having escaped from the cells, and laughed. I would recognise that laugh anywhere. But now I am no longer imprisoned. I am free." She smiled down at Ignitrus, who narrowed his eyes at her.

Ignitrus spoke now. "However, there is only one amulet, and it must be worn around the neck to be effective, so it can't be shared."

"And it's mine." Morgana replied. "I think it's time that I show you my other form."

leaping forward, Arthur stabbed her in the stomach with his sword. She laughed at him and pulled out the blade.

_No, Arthur. That sort of sword won't work, _Merlin thought.

As she laughed, Merlin saw with horror that her mouth was growing wider and wider. Her eyes went black and her teeth began to sharpen into points. A low moaning noise spilled from her jaws, which were lengthening to form a wolf's snout.

The sword dropped from her hand as her skin turned grey and she started to shiver.

Arthur ran towards her and started to punch her with his bare fists. Morgana simply grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air.

Heart beating fast, Merlin formed a fireball in his hand and aimed at her chest, but she moved Arthur in front of her so he didn't have a clear shot. Ignitrus, now unguarded, lunged for the amulet but was thrown back into the wall by her other arm.

Struggling, Arthur began to gasp as his air was cut off. He kicked at Morgana's face, landing a well aimed one to her still-transforming nose.

She dropped him at her feet, where he gasped and wheezed as air flowed back into his starved lungs. That was when she turned on Merlin.

* * *

**Lots of action for you there! Now you finally know what the amulet is for.**

**I should probably tell you that werewolves are one of my biggest fears, so writing the transformation scene had me going downstairs with a cricket bat to check that the noise I heard wasn't Morgana trying to break in (it was my cat, by the way).**

**See you next Tuesday!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N – Good to see you all again! **

**By the way, if any of you were wondering, a vole is a small, mouse like creature, and it wasn't just a misspelling of mole! ;) **

* * *

"Sometimes human places, create inhuman monsters." ― Stephen King, _The Shining _

* * *

Morgana came staggering towards Merlin, teeth bared. He steeled himself and directed a fireball at her chest, but it simply extinguished when it touched her. Her skin rippled as it turned into a rough grey pelt and her limbs lengthened. He could see all of her ribs through the rips in her ruined dress.

She was slow on her feet as she was still transforming – Merlin had read somewhere that it took three minutes for the full change to take place. That gave him about half a minute. Merlin raised his hand again, whispering spells frantically. He tried everything. First fire spells, to try to at least injure her. Then pain spells, cutting spells, transformation spells, even _levitating_ spells... Nothing worked.

The wolf simply swung its arm at him and knocked him to the ground. Merlin felt the wind knocked out of him and looked up at the monster towering over him. She opened her mouth, baring sharp fangs. Merlin caught a glimpse of her eyes, which were still an icy blue, but had turned more feral and wild.

Just as she was about to strike, Ignitrus ran in front of her attempting to snatch the amulet from around her neck again. His fingers wrapped around it and he tried to tug it away before she lunged at him, and... _ugh_. Merlin shuddered as the limp body of Ignitrus was flung to the ground. Morgana leapt towards him.

_He was back to that dungeon, before they retook the_ _castle. The sword was swinging towards him-_

Suddenly, Morgana stopped and an ear-splitting shriek pieced the air. Merlin's forehead creased as he tried to work out what was wrong. He finally realised when he looked down at her feet, where drops of blood spattered the stone floor. A sword-tip protruded from her heaving chest. _Arthur's sword._

She collapsed to the ground, and Merlin saw that it wasn't Arthur, but _Gaius_ holding the sword, with his arms braced in a two-hand grip. The huge sword almost dwarfed him, especially as Merlin was used to seeing it in the strong, capable hands of Arthur.

"G-Gaius?" Merlin stammered.

"Oh, hello Merlin," he replied, peering at the body of Ignitrus behind him. "I thought you might have needed a hand. I don't think there's much hope for _him_ is there?"

Merlin almost laughed. "... H-how? How could you even? Gaius, you just killed a werewolf! And no, to answer your earlier question, he's dead."

From behind them, Arthur groaned and sat up.

"Did I miss anything? Hey, who took my sword?"

* * *

Tarrian strode quickly down he steps and along to the dungeons. He had been told to check the kitchens but, as always, his guards took priority. Holding the hilt of his sword firmly, he rounded the last corner before the cells and breathed in quickly as he realised that there were no guards.

The door that Ignitrus had blown off, what seemed like years ago, had been removed, leaving an empty cell. Quickly unlocking the box used to store the keys when there were no guards on duty and grabbing the heavy, silver keys from inside it, he went to open the door of Morgana's small cell.

She wasn't there.

That's why there were no guards on duty. There was no-one to guard.

* * *

Merlin, Gaius and Arthur sat around the table in the middle of the room.

"So," Arthur said, "what happened while we were away?"

Gaius thought for a moment before replying. He rubbed his eyes, and Merlin noticed that Gaius looked a lot older and more tired than the last time they had met. "Well, all seemed fine at first, but we upped the patrols just in case. Then, on the second day, we heard a strange tapping noise echoing through the stone walls. As you know, the pipe from the kitchen pump passes by the cells."

"Ah, yes. My father had it installed so that the pump could be used in the kitchen even though the well was in the caves below the castle," said Arthur.

"Well, it seems that Morgana also knew of it. She found a small sharp stone in her cells and used it to make a hole in the pipe. When they used the pump, they found that no water was flowing and eventually had to check the pipe. She waited behind the door of the cell and when they came in to check the pipe she locked them in and made a run for it."

Merlin and Arthur looked at each other in shock. Morgana has seemed too physically and emotionally unstable to do anything like that when they left.

"What happened next?"

"Well, I was up on the balcony – up there!" He pointed to a cupboard full of supplies just above them, "She came in and I saw her so I hid. I wanted to find out what she was doing. Morgana walked straight over there and grabbed an amulet. I thought it was strange that she knew exactly which one she wanted."

"She must have remembered it from when she was a child," murmured Merlin. It must have been awful, having her true form taken from her, forced to live as a normal human. He couldn't help but see reflections of his life in hers. Still, that would not repay the lives that she had taken.

"Indeed. She stood there and looked at it for quite some time before Ignitrus came running in and tried to snatch it. She quickly forced him to kneel with her sword and that was that. A few moments later, you arrived, and you know the rest."

Arthur sat and contemplated this for a second, before looking around and asking "where is everyone else?"

Merlin was about to reply before Tarrian, Percival, Leon and Gwaine came bursting through the door.

"Sire! Morgana has escaped! We can't find Ignitrus, but it's possible they are in league together. We have to go, n-" Gwaine stopped talking as he noticed the two bodies on the ground.

"What happened?" Leon gasped.

Merlin sighed.

* * *

**Okay, see you next week guys!**

**Feedback, as always, is appreciated a lot. :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N – Well, this is it guys! The last chapter. I've really enjoyed writing this, and I hope you enjoyed reading it. Au revoir!**

* * *

"You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I'm grateful."  
― John Green, _The Fault in Our Stars_

* * *

The knights stared at Merlin in shock, their mouths hanging open. He had explained the events of earlier in detail, with interjections from Gaius and Arthur when he missed a particularly heroic bit out. They were sitting around the table in the centre of the room. The knights looked almost comical, squashed together on the small benches.

"So she was a- a werewolf?" Gwaine asked again.

"Yes. Her and Ignitrus. Their adopted father locked their wolf forms inside this amulet." Merlin held up the amulet, which was now dull and lifeless.

Leon's brows furrowed as her thought. "How come you could kill her with a normal blade then? That's just Arthur's normal sword isn't-"

"My sword is _not_ normal."

Merlin ignored Arthur, who was still slightly confused from the lack of oxygen earlier.

"It is, yes. Gaius was able to kill her - it - because the magic only worked for a human form. When she changed, she was no longer human and was able to be killed."

Another knight asked a question and Merlin thought for a moment before answering. Tarrian watched from the back of the room.

_I should have known_, he thought. _When he locked us in that room what feels like years ago, I should have noticed then. I failed. I almost let Merlin be killed._

He didn't notice Gaius come to stand next to him, and jumped when the old man spoke.

"I know what you're thinking."

"You don't."

"You're thinking that you failed and that this is your fault. You might even be thinking of leaving Camelot as penance." Gaius looked right into the deep, dark pools of Tarrian's eyes through older, wiser eyes.

"I'm not _that_ guilty," he replied gruffly.

Gaius laughed. "I see your wit is just as sharp as ever!"

Tarrian smiled back and walked slowly out of the room, barely making a sound on his well-worn boots. Gaius thought, for a second, about buying him some new ones, but then realised that he probably liked them like that.

* * *

Arthur was sitting on the side of his bed, unlacing his shirt. He pulled off his riding boots and lay back on the bed. Just as he was about to close his eyes, there was a knock at the door.

"Enter."

Merlin walked in and smiled at him.

"It's time to sort out the last piece of this mess. The visits to Gwen, or what you _think_ is her." He said quietly.

Arthur's face immediately became tense and he started to breathe quickly.

"Merlin... I – I don't know if I..." His hands gripped the side of the bed tightly.

"Yes, you can. I'll help you. First, we need a picture of Gwen. I know you used to draw her secretly while she was still alive, I found the drawings stuffed into a flower pot. Did you draw her again after she died?"

Arthur was taken aback. "I- er- yes." He opened a drawer and pulled out the charcoal drawing. "Here."

Merlin took the drawing and studied it closely.

"This is perfect," he said. "Now, lie down and close your eyes."

Arthur did as he said, and when he opened his eyes again, he was surrounded by fog. He looked round and saw Merlin behind him.

"Merlin! How did you get here?"

"A simple dream spell. You'll need me further on."

Merlin walked forward to stand beside him, shoulder to shoulder. The fog cleared slightly, and they found that they were on top of a mountain. The view was breathtaking. They waited together, staring into the horizon, until they began to be able to hear Gwen's voice behind them.

"_Don't turn around_." Merlin hissed, grabbing Arthur's wrist to stop him.

Merlin held up the picture in front of them. "This is what Gwen looks like, correct?"

"Yes, Merlin, that's what she looks like." Arthur looked at him as if he was stupid.

"You're absolutely _sure_ that that's what she looks like?"

"For God's sake, Merlin! Yes, I am!" Arthur replied exasperatedly.

"Then who is that?" Merlin asked, turning round to look at what was standing behind them.

At first, it resembled a group of features thrown together in a hurry by someone who didn't really know what a human looked like. After a few seconds, Arthur began to recognise areas that looked like Gwen but had been contorted horribly.

"Arthur?" The thing asked.

"I'm sorry, Arthur. Your addiction to these visits has grown, meaning that in your mind, Gwen has become more and more beautiful until she became this. When you drew this picture, she was still quite normal. Since then, she has changed almost beyond recognition."

"He's right, Arthur. Just let me be at peace. I want to rest." Gwen spoke now, resting a ruined hand on Arthur's shoulder.

"I need you. I don't want to go."

"Come on Arthur, you can. You _must_ let go." Tears filled Merlin's eyes, matching Arthur's.

Arthur slowly closed his eyes and stepped backwards, away from Gwen.

"Take me back." He whispered to Merlin.

"Good-bye, my love," Gwen called out to him as he faded away.

* * *

Arthur awoke the next day and had a few seconds of blissful relaxation before the memory of the day before hit him like a spear in the chest. He curled up tight in a ball, shutting his eyes and trying to rid himself of it before it overwhelmed him.

"Shhhh, Arthur, it's okay." Merlin's voice reached out to soothe him.

Arthur opened his eyes slowly and looked up at Merlin.

"You did it, Arthur. You let go. And now, you can be a king. _Look outside." _Merlin motioned to the open window. The drapes billowed around it, the fresh spring breeze blowing them away from the window.

Arthur walked over to it slowly and looked out.

The minute he looked out of the window, the world exploded into sound.

Thousands of people were in the courtyard, screaming with joy. Arthur staggered back from the window for a second.

"What...?"

"They're here to celebrate, Arthur. We've taken back the castle for good, and you are King again." Merlin laughed, the edges of his eyes curving upwards as they did when he was happy.

Arthur stepped back towards the window as the crowd below began to chant his name. He breathed in, and the fresh warm air felt like pure gold, spreading through his body to the tips of his fingers. He looked down to see the knights, Tarrian and Ignitrus chanting with the crowd, grinning and cheering.

Arthur would remember that day always.

Merlin stood in the long shadow that Arthur cast, and smiled.

**- The End -**


End file.
